# Mammy Jane — The Marrow of Tradition character guide

> Mammy Jane in The Marrow of Tradition by Charles W. Chesnutt.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** old Jane, Jane, ole Jane, Old Mammy Jane, Old Jane

**First appearance:** 0003-ii-the-christening-party

## Snapshot

An old nurse who has tended three generations of the Carteret family and measures the world by the standards of her late mistress.

## Who they are

Mammy Jane dotes on the Carteret baby and speaks of him with the authority of a woman who nursed his mother and grandmother before him. She distrusts the younger, mission-schooled nurse and clings to the old ways of service and deference. Her pride in the family she serves and her suspicion of the new generation of Black women quietly register the generational rift running through the novel's world.

## In the story

### [At Break of Day](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_marrow_of_tradition_se/chapters/i-at-break-of-day)

Old family nurse; provides detailed family history and expresses concern about the child's mole as an omen of bad luck.

### [IV: Theodore Felix](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_marrow_of_tradition_se/chapters/iv-theodore-felix)

Praises Dodie's qualities, clashes with the younger nurse, and performs a superstitious ritual to protect the child after the accident.

### [XI: The Baby and the Bird](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_marrow_of_tradition_se/chapters/xi-the-baby-and-the-bird)

Catches Dodie and later places a charm under his crib to ward off evil.

### [XV: Mrs. Carteret Seeks an Explanation](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_marrow_of_tradition_se/chapters/xv-mrs-carteret-seeks-an-explanation)

Mentioned as having a daughter who spied on the household for Polly Ochiltree.

### [XXXI: The Shadow of a Dream](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_marrow_of_tradition_se/chapters/xxxi-the-shadow-of-a-dream)

Olivia sends for her to help with the baby, but she is away visiting a sick woman in the country.

### [XXXIV: The Valley of the Shadow](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_marrow_of_tradition_se/chapters/xxxiv-the-valley-of-the-shadow)

Found dying on the sidewalk by Dr. Miller, her last words are 'Comin', missis, comin'!' as she succumbs to the race hatred.

### [XXXV: “Mine Enemy, O Mine Enemy!”](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_marrow_of_tradition_se/chapters/xxxv-mine-enemy-o-mine-enemy)

Mentioned as having been killed near Major Carteret's house while fleeing for protection; her death shocks Carteret.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_marrow_of_tradition_se/characters/mammy_jane
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_marrow_of_tradition_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_marrow_of_tradition_se/characters